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Opinion: Stop the sexy Latina stereotype

CHICAGO — Data can do wonders. It can free you from feeling weird about having a counterintuitive opinion. You learn that you’re not alone and you don’t feel so reluctant to admit something you’d previously figured wasn’t even worth mentioning.

A recent New York Times article chronicling the angst television networks are feeling as they attempt to appeal to Hispanics noted that “Modern Family” is not a hit with them. “Out of its overall viewership of 12.9 million, ‘Modern Family’ drew an average of only about 798,000 Hispanic viewers in the season,” the article said. “That audience accounts for only about 6 percent of the show’s viewers — less than half of what you might expect given the 48 million Hispanic television viewers that Nielsen measures.”

So knowing that, here’s my secret pet peeve: Sofia Vergara. I don’t care if she’s the highest-paid actress on TV or that we share South American roots — she’s Colombian — or that she’s a star on “Modern Family,” one of the most highly lauded, award-winning shows on television. I just can’t stand her public persona.

I don’t begrudge her for being super-gorgeous — probably the most typical reason for females to dislike her — I just hate that she so expertly works the dreaded, overdone “sexy, ditzy, bombshell Latina” stereotype that many Hispanic women have worked their whole lives to overcome.

Her appearance on the cover of Esquire magazine’s April issue, in frilly lingerie, with the word “SEX” superimposed on her midsection, pretty much encapsulated the damage she adds to an overly sexualized pop-culture image of Latinos in general, and Hispanic women in particular.

But hey, it’s not just me — I’ve seen some very poignant columns written by men also bemoaning Vergara’s message to young Hispanic girls that Latina sexuality is a commodity to be leveraged for fame and fortune.

To me, the list of Vergara’s sins against the Hispanic community seems never-ending. From her super-racy line of Kmart women’s clothing (hello, Latina teen pregnancy crisis!) to letting a cosmetics company make fun of her accent in an advertising campaign at a national moment of high anti-immigrant sentiment, to … OK, I’ll stop. My real point is that I am not alone in this hesitation about how Latinos are often portrayed in entertainment.

But though I learned something new about “Modern Family,” Latinos’ general entertainment habits shouldn’t be any kind of surprise. It drives me crazy that very few people understand that Hispanics have varied tastes just like any other group of viewers.

For instance, we’re actually sort of torn on Vergara — an unscientific poll on Huffington Post Latino Voices took my vote for “she’s starting to get annoying” and still calculated that most respondents (41 percent) said they did not think Vergara was taking the Latino stereotypes “too far.” So what do I know?

I do know that there is no mystery or magic involved in the task of English-language entertainment companies appealing to 50 million U.S. Latinos who overwhelmingly consider themselves bicultural. Two-thirds either speak only English at home or speak English very well.

First, good storytelling is universal. Narratives that weave humanity into complex relationships, paint the details of place, time and circumstance in an honest way and move us through comedy or drama will win people’s attention every time. That’s just entertainment 101.

Second, respectful portrayals are key. I wouldn’t mind Vergara, or Eva Longoria, so much if the characters those actresses inhabited weren’t always shallow sexpots. Give these women roles as astronauts, lawyers, investment bankers or captains of industry.

More generally, give the maids, bad boys and victimized immigrants a rest. Yes, those are real-life characters, but there’s no reason why art can’t imitate a diversity of life and show new — and also very real — Hispanic archetypes more often.

How about casting Latinos as up-and-coming-politicians, overachieving college students, folksy-vegan-all-organic environmental activists, or the overscheduled suburban soccer mom-slash-superstar mommy blogger?

Finally, don’t dump all of these characters in one show or movie. Latinos are huge consumers of mainstream TV shows, Web series and movies. We don’t require a Latino “hook” to be interested, just great entertainment and make-believe settings that adequately and respectfully reflect America’s multiracial, multiethnic and multicultural population.

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I am a Latina and I have to say, I don't agree entirely with this article. I do agree on one of the last points she made where she stated, "Latinos are huge consumers of mainstream TV shows, Web series and movies. We don’t require a Latino “hook” to be interested". That's true because I'm living proof of that as are many of my Latino brothers and sisters. I also agree that sometimes, it is overused; however, I don't necessarily agree with other points she made.

First, a little background: I was born in New York, but my parents are from the Dominican Republic. They came to the US in the 60s, which means I'm a first generation Hispanic American (or Dominican American, however you choose to look at it). It also means that I'm both proud to be an American (having been born in the US) and also proud of my Latin roots. I speak, write and read both languages fluently, so I am very much in touch with both my American side as well as my Dominican (Hispanic) upbringing from my parents.

That being said, I don't see anything whatsoever wrong with ANY woman (regardless of whether she's Latino, Black, White, Asian, etc.) being sexy. There is nothing wrong with sexy. Somehow many people have this problem with women being sexy (and unfortunately, I've seen most of the complaints coming from women). I have no idea why because, last time I checked, sexy is NOT a bad thing! There is a huge difference between being sexy and being sleazy - HUGE. That's where I think many don't make the distinction. Do I think that there is an oversexualized view of Latina women? Perhaps, but let's be honest. We still live in a male-dominated society (sadly) and the truth is, there tends to be an oversexualized view of women in general, not just Latina women. It's the reason why we still see ads/promos/commercials for cars, liquor and many other things with predominantly female models, so that the product(s) can sell. Yes, we Hispanic women have long had to deal with the stereotype that we're only good for either eye candy, to clean or to pump out a few babies and that's it. I'm not in any way condoning that, nor do I agree with that; hence, the reason why it's called a "stereotype". The truth is, many Hispanic women are well-educated, intelligent and strong business women...and no, not all of us have a thick accent either and even for those who do, it doesn't mean that they are any less educated. Our contributions and education go well beyond the "pretty, sexy maid/cleaning lady that just came off the boat and has a thick accent that's begging to be ridiculed by the media".

I happen to like actresses like Sofia Vergara and Eva Longoria and, although their characters have somewhat represented the typical Latina sexpot thing, I see their characters as being stronger than what the author of this article is making them out to be. If you listen to them interviewing outside of their TV characters, you can clearly tell they are both very smart and business savvy women. Another example of a very smart, business savvy, yet beautiful and sexy woman is Salma Hayek. Remember, she has been portrayed in movies as a sexpot, too, but she's a lot more than that, especially in real life. My point is I don't necessarily see a Latina who is both sexy and strong/intelligent as a negative thing. In fact, I admire women who have both smarts and a sexy persona and work it confidently and elegantly - that IS possible, you know! Honestly, I have a bigger problem with Latinas being portrayed as ditzy or lacking education. People have made fun of a Spanish accent for decades, assuming that we don't always have a strong command of the English language or that there are some words we need explained to us. Truthfully, the image of the Latina posing in a bikini or a revealing outfit in a high-pitched voice being gawked at by men is something that is more prominent on Spanish TV (e.g. - Univision and Telemundo). That is one of the reasons why whenever I've taken jobs doing TV, film or commercials, I try to avoid the Spanish networks at all costs. I know that they are not necessarily going to ask me about my opinion on the theory of relativity or my philosophy on life! It's sad to say that, but yes, Spanish TV perpetuates that stereotype sometimes a lot more than American programming does.

I think there's a problem with people assuming that if you're too sexy, then you must not be smart or educated enough. Why is that?? Does that mean that only less attractive women or non-sexy women are the intelligent ones and the gorgeous sexy ones are all dumb ditzes who never went to school?? That, to me, is a worse stereotype. Why can't a woman who is sexy and beautiful also be intelligent, talented and strong?? Somehow, people seem to think "it's too good to be true" and I happen to think that's ridiculous. When I was a girl, my mom always had Spanish programming on, so I grew up seeing TONS of Hispanic artists (whether actresses, singers, dancers, musicians) portrayed in the media as the typical sexpot. Nevertheless, as young as I was and even as a teen, it did not make me think, 'oh gee, I can't wait to grow up so I can parade around half naked, not get an education and just be looked at as a pure sex object' lol. That's NOT what I was thinking. Growing up, I have looked upon certain Hispanic women as role models for me (Rita Moreno, for one) who, although had to also put up with stereotypes, did not allow that to define them as artists. That's what I think is important and is key, because then you look at it from a different perspective. Additionally, I think it's also important to remember that it's not only Hispanic women who carry the "sexy" stereotype. Why is a similar observation not made about other female artists who are NOT Latinas yet have been considered sexy over the years, or still are? (e.g. - Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, Halle Berry, Beyonce, Kim Basinger, Demi Moore, Madonna, etc. the list goes on). I suppose because they don't have the "language" thing or are not usually portrayed as "maids", then it's a different dynamic. Still, these women have all had to face their fair share of criticism, controversy and challenges due to their sexy personas as well.

All that to say, I don't see anything wrong with Latinas being sexy and yes, it IS possible for them to be sexy even if they are strong, smart, powerful women who hold titles or degrees. And no, I do NOT think it contributes to women getting disrespected or raped. What contributes to that are those who actually do the disrespecting and the raping. That's a much more deeply rooted issue than merely a Hispanic woman who is being portrayed as sexy. I consider myself a relatively intelligent woman who went to school, got her degree, am talented at what I do (both singing and belly dancing), and have gotten good jobs due to my writing and communication skills. But I have also worked as a swimsuit model and have done many photo shoots, several of which are very sexy and I am not ashamed of that. Just because I'm a Latina who is comfortable in my own skin and feel confident enough to wear bikinis to do a shoot doesn't mean I'm asking to be disrespected or raped. I'm smart enough to know the difference between being sexy and being sleazy and know how to represent myself and deal with the "sharks" out there who underestimate me as a Latina. I just think it's important to remember that, regardless of what the media portrays, many of us Hispanic women can contribute a lot with our brains and talent, whether we are considered sexy or not. And even if we may be considered sexy, so what? That's a compliment and added bonus, so I'll take it!

Hello friends of latinas, I enjoyed reading this article. The image of the latinas they want to make us believe plays major role in supressing the latin women in general. I`ve written an article called: Top 5 Myths about Latinas - Read the article here: http://www.mycolombianwife.com/top-5-myths-latinas/

Completely agree, however, it's starts with the media itself and their desire to feed crap to the masses... On Monday I saw a story Telemundo has on their olympic web page about the "rear-ends" of the female volleyball players. Twenty-some pictures of asses... not the sport, not the players, just their asses. You cant watch hispanic TV without having, even the news anchors, the women overexposing some part or other and pretending (yes, some do a poor job) to be sexy. Then you go to a focus group and all you hear is people swear off how important family values are and how "not appropriate" those things are... but they don't change that channel when the Republica Deportiva and Sabado Gigante girls come out! Unfortunately, in the words of an ex president of one of your sister networks, for which I used to work for, "sex sells". And, as I'm sure you know very well, the networks are alllllll about money and media dollars, hence why the Kardashians exits, why the Jersey Shore exist and all the other trash reality exist... the public wants it (because you're giving it to them) and it makes your CEO a lot of money. And now, because we (Latinos) are a minority, the networks need to fill that gap as well. So welcome Sofia. As well as the many others that I'm sure will follow... because sex sells. I do agree with you, but there is a lot that needs to change, just not Sofia's attitude... she's just milking the cow like anyone in Hollywood would.

Oh, Esther, I love this article! I don't understand why entertainment and media think Latina women can't be sexy without looking and acting like tramps. We can be beautiful women on the inside AND outside, and still be smart, funny, and passionate about issues. Our current crisis with young Latina suicides is the perfect example of the damage that stereotypes can cause to our children. Thanks for this awesome article.

On one hand, I am happy that she and other Latinas are succeeding in the entertainment industry but I must confess I do not agree with the way they have achieved success, which comes at the expense of our collective soul. I am not much of a TV watcher because I hate every single one of those negative stereotypes. They're everywhere! For example: once, my daughter and I were watching the movie Cars. In this movie, there are a group of "trouble-makers" and, of course, they have a Spanish accent. I fast-forward to the credits and sure enough the voices for these cars all come from actors with Spanish last names. That really crushed me as a parent because I couldn't believe I had exposed my little girl to that kind of damage. It seems like the entertainment industry is unavoidable as a whole. Even if I don't expose myself and my loved ones, they will still have access to it from others. It is also impracticable to do so. Valuable teaching moments occur during such occasions when negative stereotypes are highlighted on TV. I take it as an opportunity to discuss them with my five year old.

first of all... ALL YOU GUYS SHOULD KNOW THIS IS THE USA... USA HAS TO BE THE MOST RACIST AND GENERALIZED COUNTRY I HAVE MET... THEY DO THIS CRAP TO EVERY GROUP.. MEXICAN OR WHITE AMERICAN OR ASIAN ETC... ITS JUST THE FACT LADIES... WAKE UP.. ITS NOT JUST SOFIA, EVERY GIRL COMING IN NOWADAYS IN HOLLYWOOD DO THIS... WHY YOU THINK SO MANY FEMALE ACTRESSES COMING IN NOWADAYS HAVE NO TALENT BUT SEX APPEAL.. SOFIA VERGARA IS TERRIBLE ACTRESSES, ITS SAME WITH JLO, SAME WITH KIM KARDASHIANS, AND ALL OTHER LADIES NOWADAYS... THEY HAVE NO TALENT AT ALL.. WHY YOU THINK YOU HEAR STORIES OF YOUNG GIRLS BEING PRESSURED BY PRODUCERS TO SLEEP WITH THEM AND GET THE PART... I HATE NOVELAS... I WISH NOVELAS SHOULD GO AWAY... I DOn't KNOW WHY GIRLS WATCH IT.. ITS SO STUPID... NO GUY ACTS LIKE THAT... PEOPLE SAY HOW LATINAS ARE TREATED BADLY... HEY LATINO GUYS GET THE WORST OF IT... I CANT STAND WHEN THEIR MAGAZINES SAYING HOW LATINAS ARE THESE HOT AND SEXY, ANGELS... BUT THE MEN OOOOO NOOO WERE CHEATERS, LIARS, WIFE BEATER, WERE MONSTERS, I FIND THAT VERY OFFENSIVE... AND IT SHOULD BE SURPRISE THAT THEIRS MORE LATINAS IN HOLLYWOOD THAN LATINO ACTORS... BECAUSE THEIR IS VERY FEW.. FACT I SEE SO MANY ARTICLES ON LATINO MEN BASHING.... YET I NEVER HEARD LATINO GUYS BASHING LATINAS.

Vergara is just another cog in a huge American (and beyond) entertainment mechanism. According to what I see, she isn't even close to being the problem. Before we start casting stones let's start by looking at all the garbage Spanish Novelas currently on just about every Latino network, domestic and abroad. You'll be hard pressed to find any female character (let alone male) exhibit anything above an IQ range of 86 to 98; scantily dressed, with their biggest concerns being how she was betrayed by 'Pedro' with 'Teresa', meanwhile she had slept with the local dog walker... NOTHING but sex (sexuality) and infidelity. This is the garbage WE feed young Latino audiences all over Latin America! American media jumps on this (demographically based) band wagon to perpetuate and profit from an already-existing market, and you blame Sophía Vergara? I respectfully disagree with your (otherwise well written) article.